Tag Archives: broken

He said it had been a few years since he last used a computer… so naturally, I assumed a certain level of knowledge.

A few days later, he calls, saying he is have a great amount of difficulty using the mouse and that maybe I incorrectly changed a window setting to cause this…

So I go through some basic troubleshooting:

Did you try a different USB port? (He tried all 6 ports)

Do you have another mouse you can use? (he had already gone out & purchased a new mouse, but same problem)

OK, so what happens when you click the button? (either nothing, or some funny arrows appear, or a menu appears… but clicking on an icon doesn’t work (nor does double-clicking)… & sometimes it makes the screen move in unpredictable ways…

After a bit of head scratching, & asking him to right-click this & left-click that, he admits that there is no left or right button… just one in the middle…

Hmmm, did he buy an apple mouse by mistake?

No, its a logitek

OK, is the button on the left or right side?

“Its in the middle… & its a bit narrow”

Narrow?

Now the penny drops: He’s been using the scroll wheel as “The” mouse button…

So now I have to explain that the flat surface on either side of the “button” are the actual buttons… push them & they will make a clicking sound… but they don’t

So now its a leverage problem: move your finger further up towards the edge of the mouse & a fit further to the side…

Ah, finally he gets it… he’s totally amazed that the front flat surface of the mouse is actually 2 “secret” buttons that he never knew about!